Hysterectomy

A hysterectomy is surgery that removes the uterus, which many people call the womb. The uterus is the organ where a fetus, the developing baby, grows during pregnancy. The operation is used to treat problems of the uterus, such as heavy bleeding, pain, or cancer.

What gets removed isn't always the same. Picture the uterus as an upside-down bottle: the body of the bottle sits on top and the neck points down. That neck is the cervix, the part where the uterus connects to the vagina. In a total hysterectomy, the most common kind, the whole bottle comes out, neck and all. In a partial hysterectomy, also called supracervical, a word that means "above the cervix," only the top part is removed and the cervix stays where it is.

Without a uterus, there's no longer a place for a baby to grow, so pregnancy isn't possible anymore, and menstrual periods don't come back. Sometimes the same operation also removes the ovaries and the fallopian tubes, the passageways that connect the uterus to the ovaries. And if both ovaries come out, the person can expect menopause symptoms to start.